Passions and Obsessions

Posted on 31. May, 2012 by charles in Careers, Education, Life Stories, People, Self Development

What do Picasso, Mozart,  Florence Nightingale, Charles Darwin, and Carl Jung have in common? I suggest that it was the passion for their chosen profession and their obsession for pursuing it. Did  they have obsessive compusive personalities?

Maybe that in order to be outstanding at any activity you need to be passionate and obsessional. Picasso was certainly passionate about his artistic creations and the fact that he continued pouring out his paintings, sculptures, ceramics and drawing indicates a level of obsession. It is estimated that he produced over 50,000 pieces of artwork in his 91 years. That is a considerable output by any standard.

Florence Nightingale was passionate in a different way. She said that her nursing work arose as a result of a call from the Almighty to help those in need. It led her on an amazing journey to the battlefront of the Crimean War and later to the development of the nursing profession. She was a very talented lady who spoke a number of languages and proved to be a statistician of renown plus her abilities in organization and health care. In order to achieve what she did there is no doubt there was an element of obsession and determination in her work.

The same is true if you look at the life of Mozart. Although gifted, he had a passion for music and was obsessional about his creations and performances in order to maintain the quality of his work. Charles Darwin sailed for 5 years around the globe to look for evidence on the formation of life. He spent the rest of his life assembling the evidence and writing. On the Origin of Species and The Descent of Man caused a storm of debate, as he upset the passions and compulsions of many people who believed in creationism by an almighty being.

Indeed, the subject of passion and compulsions became a centre point for the psychology work of Carl Jung. He  tried to explain passions and compulsions while, at the same time, being a victim of his own passions and compulsions.

In studying amazing people, I have found that they all had these two elements. No doubt, their passions and compulsions were key factors determining their achievements.

So, what are your passions and compulsions? How can you manage them to achieve what you want to achieve? For more information on amazing people and the lessons you can learn from them please see  – http://www.amazingpeopleclub.com//

Tags: Achievements, Amazing people, Compulsions, Passions, Psychology